InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "teh love owns me!"

Joanie Wicker | The Wicked Witch of the West (wickedwicker) wrote in bellumlogs,
@ 2010-07-03 23:50:00

Entry tags:

shere khan, wicked witch

Who: Sam and Joanie
What: Semi-awkward talking
Where: 904
When: June 24th, 5:15 PM
Warnings: None anticipated, though with Joanie, swearing is always a possibility. EDIT: PG-style smoochin' going on here people

After work, Joanie had driven her bike back to Bellum and parked it, running up the stairs to her apartment. Though Sam had been terribly drunk the previous night, she assumed that his desire to talk about their situation was real. So she threw down her monstrosity of a purse, picked up the plastic bag with his gift - a stuffed dolphin with a pair of sunglasses magically fixed over its eyes for added hilarity - and left for the ninth floor.

In the days after returning from Russia, Joanie's bruises had gotten worse before starting to get better. And even as they improved, she was terribly self-conscious about them. Her face was caked in foundation to cover up the blue-black hue spread across the bridge of her nose as well as the assorted scratches on her temples. The bruise on her chin was harder to hide, but she did her best, managing to create a mask that at least looked human. Though it was stuffy in this June weather, she wore long sleeves and jeans, wanting to cover up Russia's effects on her as much as possible.

She stood outside the door to 904, chewing on her lower lip for a moment before rapping lightly on it. After a moment, she knocked more loudly before standing back and waiting.

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tiger_says_rawr
2010-07-03 11:10 pm UTC (link)

"I'm coming, Josie, keep your panties on," Sam grumbled playfully, mostly to himself, but hey - his gait was on the slow side thanks to the ever-present rib cracking. The burn was still going strong, but he had been following doctors orders and taking care of it like he should. He just wanted it to go away.

He finally shuffled to the door and opened it, surveying her carefully, checking to see if any new bruises had appeared....

...then he grabbed her (gently!) and kissed her firmly, in the doorway. "You selling Girl Scout cookies?"

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wickedwicker
2010-07-03 11:15 pm UTC (link)

As the door swung upon, she opened her mouth to speak when she was cut off by a combination hug-and-kiss. Eyes widening in surprise, she returned both gestures, wrapping her arms gently around his shoulders. She pulled back just enough to drop one hand - the one holding the bag - and snort at his question. "I got kicked out of Girl Scouts, you know," she said teasingly. "It's not nice to re-open that old wound."

She shook the bag slightly, tilting her head to the side. "It's your present!" she said, raising a brow. "I said I was coming up here after work last night." She paused, smirking. "Or do you not remember that?"

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	tiger_says_rawr 2010-07-03 11:26 pm UTC (link)
	Sam snickered wryly, shaking his head. He stepped back so Joanie could come inside, then shut the door behind her. "You got kicked out of Girl Scouts? Do tell. And yes, I remember that you were supposed to come over. Go, get comfortable anywhere," he offered, waving a hand toward the living room. "Do you want anything?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

wickedwicker
2010-07-03 11:38 pm UTC (link)

She quirked a brow. "I think that's a second date story," she replied breezily as she made her way across the living room to slump on the sofa. Crossing one leg over the other, she sat the bag down on the cushion beside her. "No thanks, I'm good." She paused, realizing that they really were supposed to be "having a talk." In her experience, those situations always turned out bad. "We have to talk" were the four most horrible words in the English language. So to try and stall, she held out the bag despite having just put it down. "You should check out your present," she said with a smile.

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tiger_says_rawr
2010-07-03 11:54 pm UTC (link)

"Can't we just skip there considering we cheated death together?" Sam asked from the kitchen, grabbing a Coke from the fridge and going to sit down - carefully - next to Joanie on the couch. He set the soda on the side table and reached for the bag which contained his glorious gift. "Is it really a dol - oh shit, it is!" he said happily as he pulled out the ridiculous plush animal. "It's perfect, just what I always wanted. Thanks," he grinned, and put his arm around her. "What else did you do in Florida?" Sam asked, stroking her cheek with his thumb with his other hand. "...no tan, I see." But who cared, he liked her porcelain skin!

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wickedwicker
2010-07-04 12:00 am UTC (link)

"Nearly dying doesn't count!" she barked, though her voice was playful. As he pulled out the horribly cheesy little toy, she grinned. "It made me think of you," she said, leaving him to decide if that was a compliment or an insult. The arm around her shoulder made her shrug slightly, but she settled beneath it, relaxing as he asked about Florida. "Honestly? Nothing. We were there for like a day and then started driving back. I spent most of that day sleeping." As he reached out for her face, she stilled, eyes widening slightly. She glanced down to try and see his thumb before sulking at his assessment. "I was tired. Besides, you don't get a tan in a day."

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tiger_says_rawr
2010-07-04 12:11 am UTC (link)

Joanie was twitchy, even if she was trying to hide it, and Sam watched her carefully. He was sure it had to do with the goings-on in the Russian hellhole - she was acting like anyone who got too close was going to pull out a torch and set her on fire. "At least you were thinking of me," he said, raining kisses over her face and forehead - softly, so as not to disturb any bruises. "I didn't do much here either. Just got drunk. The building didn't eat me or force me to watch shitty Pauly Shore movies. It was business as usual."

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wickedwicker
2010-07-04 12:16 am UTC (link)

"That earns me points, right?" she asked. The barrage of kisses was a surprise, but she found herself smiling against her best attempts to the contrary. As he described his terribly boring past few days, she grimaced. "I swear if the next big thing is us being forced to watch Bio-Dome on repeat, I'm moving out." Nearly getting killed by Russian peasants was one thing, but sadistic psychological torture was a whole other ball game. Only Bellum could be so cruel. "But I'm glad you weren't absorbed into the wall or something freaky like that."

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tiger_says_rawr
2010-07-04 12:21 am UTC (link)

"Thanks, I'm glad I wasn't absorbed into the wall or Bio-Dome either." Ugh, good lord! Now that would be torture - being sucked into a Pauly Shore movie, not just watching one. "Yeah, if we were playing for points you'd earn them. But remember you said that we're not playing for points so you're shit out of luck." He smiled crookedly and kissed the corner of her mouth before settling back and popping the top on the soda. Ahh, caffeine. "Sorry for the drunk texts," Sam added. "Straight vodka was obviously not a good idea. Hopefully you were entertained."

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wickedwicker
2010-07-04 12:35 am UTC (link)

The mention of no points made her pause. Shit, she had said that. Damnit, stymied by her own lack of logic. The kiss caused her to smile yet again against her will, and she leaned back into the couch. As he mentioned the texts, she snickered. "It's fine, I had actually found nothing on TV last night and they did the job of keeping me amused." And slightly overwhelmed, but that was another can of worms that she wasn't about to open. "They'll make for funny reading later," she said. "I'll have to admit, I've never heard that Amish come-on line used in real life before."

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	tiger_says_rawr 2010-07-04 12:41 am UTC (link)
	Sam had to think about it for a second. Amish come-on line? Oh, right. But he had no shame! He chuckled deviously. "Well, it was either going to be that or hypothesizing about how much money Little Debbie would make in revenue if pot was legalized," he said. "So you lucked out, Snicker Doodle." And no, he never planned on using that name in public, ever. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

wickedwicker
2010-07-04 12:45 am UTC (link)

She didn't even try to hide the eye roll as he explained the alternative. Yes, the perversion of Amish culture and the word "plow" was much better than a theory about how pot made people hungry. "Yeah, I guess I did," she said, wrinkling her nose at the nickname. "How the hell did I become Snicker Doodle?" Coming from a southern family that seemed determined, in some ways, to remain in the 1950's, she had spent a lot of time in the kitchen with her harpy of an aunt, participating in baking slave labor. Snickerdoodle cookies were good, she supposed, though they weren't exactly her favorite. Really, she hadn't given them any thought until she had baked Russell a batch a month or two ago.

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	tiger_says_rawr 2010-07-04 12:52 am UTC (link)
	"I don't know, I'm not good at coming up with cutesy pet names while shitfaced," Sam protested. "They're not my favorite cookies though. Peanut butter's actually my favorite," he said, raising an eyebrow knowingly. "Are you going to pout?" he asked, touching her bottom lip. "Please, go on and do it." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

wickedwicker
2010-07-04 12:58 am UTC (link)

"Funny how that works out," she replied wryly, recalling their intricate conversation about peanut butter the previous night. She almost felt bad for leading a drunken Sam along on the trail of fail, but then remembered that he had started it. She didn't feel quite as bad when she remembered that it was, essentially, his doing in the first place. As he touched her lower lip, she jutted her chin out, setting her jaw stubbornly. "No!" she hissed. "I don't pout that much!" Of course, just after she said that, she settled into a very big pout.

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tiger_says_rawr
2010-07-04 01:14 am UTC (link)

Sam, of course, found this vastly amusing. He smiled lazily, and it was a flash of teeth - a tiger's smile. "You wanted to talk, right?" he asked, but curved his lips around hers and kissed her before any words could come out. He just wanted to kiss the pout off for now. And Sam had kissed a lot of people, but Joanie definitely took the prize for the most pouty, kissable lips. They were like two juicy pieces of forbidden fruit - although not so forbidden to him, which made his mouth happy.

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wickedwicker
2010-07-04 09:49 am UTC (link)

It was so rude when he would ask her a question and then kiss her so she couldn't answer. She let out a minor sound of protest, though it was quickly consumed by a murmur of approval. Joanie had never been a particularly touchy-feely person. Hugs were given only when necessary, and she almost always kept her hands to herself. So being the recipient of all this attention - physical attention - was a bit overwhelming.

But damn, did it feel nice.

When the kiss finally concluded, she pulled back, a bit of a red tinge visible even through her makeup. "Uh..." she started, realizing that trying to talk immediately after being kissed by Sam would most likely just make her seem like an inarticulate moron. "Yeah." Still inarticulate. "Well. You, actually, wanted to talk, and I agreed that we should." Still a moron.

Fingers twining around one another in her lap, she looked down before glancing up at him. "Did you have...anything you wanted to say? Or something?" She had no idea how this was supposed to go, but she had a bad feeling either way.

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	tiger_says_rawr 2010-07-04 02:33 pm UTC (link)
	He covered Joanie's twisting hands with one of his own, fingers sliding down in between hers. "Well, I just want to know what you want," he said, baby blues focusing on her face. "So you can tell me." Ladies first! And it would be helpful to know if she wanted this to go somewhere so he didn't feel like he was violating her everytime he showed affection. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

wickedwicker
2010-07-04 09:01 pm UTC (link)

Why did she have to talk? This stupid building seemed to be shoving her in every damned direction against her will, forcing her to do things she never wanted to do. First she went to Russia and was beaten half to death by a crowd of angry peasants. Then she had an emotional meltdown in front of another human being. And now, she had to talk about things that bordered on feelings. There was a reason Joanie avoided feelings - she was bad at expressing them in any way that didn't involve yelling.

"Uh," she started, hands stilling beneath his palm. At first, she was reluctant to look at him as she fidgeted in her seat. Trying to put things together in her head was hard when she was on the spot, and her first reaction was to demand that he go first because he obviously had something to say and why was he doing this to her. However, she bit back any venom she desperately wanted to spew and instead managed to put together a coherent thought on the subject at hand.

"Well, I guess I want..." Well, she thought she had a coherent thought. What did anybody want? It was a fucking vague question, and he was clearly torturing her by asking it. "What I meant to say is, I...enjoy your company." That surprised even her at first. She finally looked into his face, blue eyes locking with blue. "You're weird and frustrating and fun and smart and hilarious and-" She wanted to say "hot," but realized that she wasn't about to make a total fool of herself. However, the way her gaze skipped over the length of his sitting body before returning to his face essentially filled in the blank left by her pause before she spat out a less embarrassing final quality. "-interesting."

After that little outburst, she fell quiet for a moment before realizing that she couldn't leave it at that. "So I guess what I'm saying is...I like seeing you?" Her expression was momentarily vulnerable and unsure, knowing she could be setting herself up for a fall. She quickly covered it, but that hesitation lingered as she watched his face, silent.

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tiger_says_rawr
2010-07-04 09:11 pm UTC (link)

If Joanie didn't even know what she wanted, then how was he supposed to know? How could he give her what she wanted if she didn't tell him, or realize that she even was a human being with wants and needs like anyone else? And he asked her first because she had to recognize that a relationship - if that was what this was going to be - was not about just what he wanted. It had to be mutually beneficial.

"It's okay to tell me what you're thinking," he said. "I want you to, because I can't read your mind. So do you want to keep seeing me?" Sam asked. "Because I don't want to see anyone else, if that's what you want."

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wickedwicker
2010-07-04 09:22 pm UTC (link)

It wasn't exactly that she didn't know what she wanted. Joanie wasn't quite as indecisive as she acted. But if you made a decision, if you committed, then there was the chance that your decision could be wrong. And if you were wrong, especially about a person, they could hurt you. She was so terrified of getting hurt that she was reluctant to uncoil, even if just taking that chance could be a wonderful ride.

But hearing him say that he actually was interested made her relax slightly. "Really?" she asked, momentarily bewildered. "You'd...want to keep seeing me?" Because he had interfered in her hand-twisting, she began to knead her feet against the floor. Her expression flitted on disbelief before settling into a slow, fragile smile. "I'd like that."

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tiger_says_rawr
2010-07-04 09:31 pm UTC (link)

"Course I do," Sam said, gently ruffling Joanie's hair. "It's difficult though, isn't it?" he asked rhetorically. "To date someone and essentially put yourself out there. But I'll always be honest with you, just so you know." He smoothed the hair he had mussed, leaning in to bump his nose against her cheek. She couldn't go through life hiding from everyone and everything. That wasn't really living. And when you take a chance sometimes good things happen, sometimes bad things happen, but if you don't take a chance, nothing happens. But he thought this would be a good thing. He really liked Joanie.

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wickedwicker
2010-07-04 09:47 pm UTC (link)

The ruffle of her hair made her smile. It was a gentle, soft gesture that managed to put her at ease despite the fact that his words put her on edge. He was right. Putting yourself out there was hard, and it made her uncomfortable. But at his reassurance, she relaxed again. "And I'll always be honest with you," she said with a definitive nod. She wanted to believe that he was telling the truth, and for now, that was enough.

After a moment's silence, she gingerly leaned closer until their sides were touching. She was careful to put no pressure on his ribs, but there was just that light contact that sufficed. "How's your burn?" she asked, expression concerned. "And your ribs?"

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tiger_says_rawr
2010-07-04 09:55 pm UTC (link)

Sam closed the gap between them and tucked his arm around her, kissing the side of her head. "They're fine," he replied with a slight smile. "Healing nicely, so that's good. I've been following doctor's orders. What about you?" he asked. "You know I worry about you." Not because he thought she was incapable of taking care of herself, but because she seemed to think expressing discomfort, whether it was physical or something bothering her upstairs - was a sign of weakness, or was under the false impression that no one cared. And that wasn't healthy.

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wickedwicker
2010-07-04 10:05 pm UTC (link)

Still careful, she folded against him, holding herself stiffly to spare his ribs. "Good," she said, returning the smile. As he asked about her, she paused. How was she? Normally, her response would be a snippy "fine" that was given no matter what state she was in. But after what had happened the day before, she realized that there was much more to her answer than that.

Her expression froze for a moment before settling into a small, wan smile. "I'm better," she said genuinely. "You don't need to worry. It'll give you gray hair, you know."

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tiger_says_rawr
2010-07-04 10:10 pm UTC (link)

"I can dye my hair," Sam scoffed. "But there's only one 'you' and of course I'm going to worry. You don't have to hold it all in because it will burst eventually, whether you want it to or not - like an infected appendix," he teased, touching Joanie's side where the organ should be. But he meant what he said. "And, you know, one of my jobs as your Thing? Whatever you want to call me? Is to be a verbal punching bag. So I'll listen whenever you want."